Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story but the idea and the title.
A/N: Things are going to start getting more serious…
"Well, I don't really think that would work."
"But what if we…?"
"That's even more dangerous!"
Hotaru walked casually into the kitchen, listening to the voices in the living room. Ami and Zoisite had recovered a little bit from their mortification around each other, at least enough to sit and argue physics with Mamoru. The other Senshi and Shitennou were sitting around like sports spectators, watching those who had any understanding of black holes with mystified expressions.
Pausing at the counter, Hotaru reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, transparent orange plastic bottle. It usually held small pills to help Hotaru relax at night. Now, the bottle was empty, the capsules immersed in a "special tea" she had sent along with Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru.
"Gomen, Mama, Mama, Papa," she whispered, tossing the bottle into the garbage. "But you would try to stop me from doing what I have to. What only I can do."
"No, that wouldn't work. We would have to get too close, and it would probably just swallow us," Ami's voice said. "Think! We must be missing something!"
You are. The answer has been sitting beside you all day.
Hotaru peaked around the corner. No one seemed to have noticed her absence. With any luck, it would be a long time before they would.
Quietly as she could, she slipped out of the kitchen. No one turned in her direction as she opened the door, then ever so gently closed it behind her.
Move fast, she ordered herself, hurrying to the elevator. You can't let them stop you. They won't want you to do it, but that's why you…that's why I was born.
A breath of warm air spilled out into the night after her as she hit the sidewalk running. The portal was over a mile away, but these days she know longer suffered from a sickly body. She checked her bunny-shaped watch, a parting gift from Chibiusa, then looked up into the dark sky dotted with brilliant stars. Briefly, she whished she could see Saturn. It would have given her a strange measure of comfort, and perhaps some strength.
Suddenly, Hotaru stopped and spun around. She could see nothing, though her Senshi instincts were screaming danger. Her eyes scanned the sidewalk, the buildings, the shadows, all to no avail.
"I know you are there," she called. No one and nothing answered. She stared a moment longer, then turned and ran even faster.
I won't let fear stop me.
But the apartment building came into view all too soon. She slowed to a walk, gasping for breath, her hand on her heaving chest. Just ahead was her destination, and possibly her damnation.
"I have to do this," Hotaru told herself again. "If I don't, everyone else will die. Mama, Mama, Papa, the Princess, and with her Chibiusa-chan… Everyone I love. I won't be afraid."
Her small, bejeweled wand came out of her pocket, clenched tightly in a child's fingers. She took a deep, steadying breath, and called on the Planet of Ruin.
"SATURN CRYSTAL POWER, MAKEUP!"
A blast of pure power surrounded her. Her head fell back in a gasp as something seared her forehead. For a moment her planet symbol burned hot, then an amethyst jewel appeared, gold headband growing to encircle her head. Hotaru's clothes shredded away, and she was wrapped in bands of light that shimmered, then became a white bodysuit. A purple skirt swished around her thighs, tied with a black bow, and tall boots encased her legs. Her hand reached out, nails flashing violet, and closed around the cool metal of the Silence Glaive.
The light dimmed, and Sailor Saturn stepped closer to the alley. The lack of attention to her transformation proved that Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna had succumbed to her sleeping potion, and could not stop her. She was free to face the enemy.
At the entrance she paused, studying the emptiness. She could not see it, but she felt it, cold and evil, almost a breathing entity of darkness.
"I am here to stop you," Saturn told the invisible evil in a strong, sure voice. Something in the alley seemed to laugh, and she smiled coldly. "You don't know me. I can stop you."
Hissing came from the shadows, a snarled taunt to attempt her threat.
"Very well. DEATH REBORN REVOLUTION!"
Black ribbons exploded from her glaive, streaking through the alley to a single pinpoint. They snapped, then flared, as Saturn dug her feet into the ground. Her arms ached, but she held her weapon and her attack.
Screams erupted from the darkness, the sound of a million souls in torment. The Soldier of Ruin held tight as the portal writhed under her assault. Her ribbons crackled, draining more and more dark energy away from the black hole.
"Give up!" she snapped, sweat rolling down her face. "I will not let you win!"
"DIE!"
A black bolt, identical to Mars' lost missile two nights before, exploded out into her chest. She grunted and stumbled, but refused to staunch her attack.
"I am the most powerful of the Senshi! I will not fail!"
"WE WILL RIP YOU TO PIECES!"
"YOU CAN TRY!"
A roar shook the buildings, the ground, and the sky. Sailor Saturn's black ribbons strained and… broke.
A single gasp flew past her lips, then Saturn fell backwards onto the sidewalk. Her elbows took the brunt of the fall, the back of her head just grazing the hard ground. She moaned and lifted one arm, seeing a bloody rip in her long glove.
"How…? It's not possible!"
Foul laughter rent the night, slamming into the wounded Soldier like a crashing wave. The force hammered her into the ground and flipped her across the harsh pavement, drawing long scratches across her arms, legs and face. She tried to cry out, but the sound was lost in the evil storm.
"WE WILL FEAST ON YOU FLESH!"
The sound subsided, leaving Saturn crying weakly in the gutter, face down, shoulders shaking. It took her a long moment to speak through her bloodied lips.
"I will not fail."
"WE WILL DRINK DEEP OF YOUR BLOOD!"
She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, lifting her head. "I will not fail!"
"WE WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!"
"I WILL NOT FAIL!"
Sailor Saturn lunged up, fingers now coated in blood and filth closing around the Silence Glaive. She grasped it with both hands, tipping her head back and bringing the edge of the blade close enough to kiss metal. Her eyes opened, glowing with a fiendish red light. From deep within the sleeping past, words awoke.
"SATURN," she began to spin, moving right into the alley, "SILENT," the glaive slashed out, cutting the darkness, "REQUIEM!"
The air exploded out from around her in a silent sonic boom of pure power. Everything quivered, then collapsed back into the vacuum. The energy of the portal twisted helplessly, and began streaming into the Silence Glaive.
The screams of the Abyss were almost unbearable, but Saturn only laughed. Her hair flared, swept forward by the pull of the glaive, the power of Silence burning in her eyes.
"I AM DESTRUCTION!" she screamed into the Abyss. "I WILL CRUSH YOU!"
FOOL! YOU BELONG TO US NOW!
The thought ricocheted through her skull, and the Glaive exploded.
Darkness poured through the handle, into her hands, into her heart and soul. She screamed once, felt her body burn, then began to fall. Something caught her under the arms, and the last thing she felt was her body being dragged backwards. Then the Abyss sank claws into her heart, and all that was Tomoe Hotaru faded away.